We are a Museum of the cultural history, natural history and geology of the Northern Mojave Desert emphasizing our Indian Wells Valley. We are located in Ridgecrest, California.
Maturango Museum, 100 E. Las Flores Ave.
Ridgecrest, CA 93555 (760) 375-6900, Fax 375-0479
The bright orange Home Depot is across the street from us...
The Museum is OPEN from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. EVERY DAY of the week, except for major holidays listed below. We will be closed July 4.
This page has been visited times since Nov. 8, 1995. Not bad for a little
museum "in the middle of nowhere!":-)
Subtle changes happen regularly to this page. Be sure you have the latest
version by hitting "REFRESH" EVERY TIME you pull up this page!!
Index to all the things we do!
CURRENT NEWSLETTER - July-Aug, 2009
previous 2009 newsletters
June, 2009
May, 2009
April, 2009
March, 2009
February, 2009
January, 2009
Newsletters from Sept. 2008 are now found in this Archive
There's a new steel "critter" out by the labyrinth! Go check him out!! See photo in July newsletter.
We made the TV news!! Bakersfield KERO 23 had a story about us and here it is in print!
Members Only Art Show in the Gallery July 17 - Aug. 12. Any type of art accepted, 1 piece per member. See below under Gallery Shows for details.
Fowers are great above 6000 ft. in the mountainGorgeous above Kennedy Meadows, starting at Troy and
all the meadows and forest above there. Wow!!
National Park Service sites will waive fees for three summer weekends
The next fee-free dates are July 18 and 19, and August 15 and 16; Not the best of
times to visit Death Valley, but hey! Yosemite is right up the road....
PETROGLYPH TOUR INFO!!
Currently, only U.S. Citizens are allowed to go up there.
More details below. As seen on Huell Howser's "California Gold" program
Oct. 30 on KCET. We take you there!! Trip info, dates, application form here
Fall dates will be announced August 20.
STARS*** When there's no moon, come to our observatory and look at the sky!!
July 16 from 8:30 on, and August 20, Sept. 17 from 8:00 on. Be amazed!!
New Docents wanted! Have some spare time during the day? Want to do something really FUN and learn more about our local area?? Docents help out at the Museum, give tours for groups, visit schools, and have a great time.
The Museum's Store needs some helpers as well. See Harris or Jane. Spend a half day meeting and greeting people who come to our Museum, sell things, have a great time. Jane Burbank-Larson is back working in the store for a while.
NEW on this page, down a ways... Ya know those wonderful papers that Sandy Rogers, our Curator of Archaeology, has been writing occasionally that show up in our Newsletter - well, now they're all here, all as pdf files, so you can find them and enjoy them whenever!
We're part of ESCHA - Eastern Sierra Cultural and Heritage Alliance effort. Come to the Museum and get a brochure which lists 20 neat spots between Ridgecrest and Bridgeport on Hwy 395 to stop and visit. Get your "Passport" stamped at our Museum, and then go get the rest too! We don't have the CD here, but you can download the audio bit and play it as you enter the Owens Valley, as most of it relates to the Paiute people and Cerro Gordo - get it from www.roadsideheritage.org, it plays on your computer or MP3player, or cut a CD and listen to it in your car as you drive. 30 min, nicely done.
"Off the Highway" article in a recent newsletter is referring to places listed on our "Trips from Ridgecrest" web page - lots of local news, then farther down, all the neat places to explore up to 3 hours from Ridgecrest.
Check out Danny Foster's neat fountain in the Maturango Museum's
Gladys Merrick Garden, at the "Exotics" mound near the
office- a nice sheet of water flows down over a large boulder.
Birds, lizards, etc. love to drink from it. It is dedicated to
Sue Byrd.
While you're out there, sit on Elva's Seat of Knowledge, and go
visit the new Iron Sheep!
LOCAL WEATHER - go to www.ridgenet.net there's a little box with current weather info, and under it a place to click for "more info" - do that and you get current stuff and can ask for 10 day forecast, current doppler radar map, surface map, and earthquake map!
It takes only 10 min. longer to go to Las Vegas from Ridgecrest through Death Valley and via Hwy 190 to Death Valley Junction and Hwy 160 to Pahrump and to I-15! If you're coming up Hwy 14, it's way faster to get to Death Valley via Ridgecrest and Trona than Hwy 190 from Olancha.
ADMISSION IS FREE TO THE MUSEUM STORE AND VISITOR CENTERS where we have free maps, and lots of good tourist information.
Death
Valley Tourist Center -maps, books and videos for sale,
and free information about the Park. 
Click for a file of information about Tourist
Info for Death Valley National Park including Scotty's Castle
tours, travel directions, sights, camps, phone numbers, etc. Most
campgrounds open. The Inn is open and Sunday Brunch happens, 11
a.m.-2 p.m. Daily tours at Scotty's Castle, but no gas there -
plan ahead.
If you have any questions about a specific area, call us or the
park before you go! (760) 786-3200. Come to the Museum to get
information and the park newspaper and let us help you plan your
trip to this wonderful desert Park! FYI - photos
of snow and Death Valley's lakes FULL of water! taken January
12 and 16, 2005, SNOW
on Emigrant Pass pictures! **We
have DV Landsat map- colorful and a must-buy! If you click
ON the map, you'll get a much bigger version of it.
More details about other ideas of things to see and do on your
way to DV can be found on the Trips from
Ridgecrest page. Lots of updates and good current information are
on the top of that page! We have the book "Death Valley and
the Northern Mojave, a Visitor's Guide"- great maps and photos
of popular places to visit.
FYI - pretty pictures of Mt. Whitney and
Owens Lake with snow 1/14/05 It does this every winter there!
Death Valley roads- see daily
weather and road report We post a copy of it at the Museum
as well.
Northern
Mojave Visitor Center - information on other places to visit
in the Northern Mojave desert.
Looking for something to do? New in town? Haven't even been to
Trona? How about cats? Trains? Indians? Click for DAY
TRIPS from Ridgecrest Exploring the Northern Mojave Desert -
a file-full of ideas for places to go from Ridgecrest which are
1/2 hour, 1, 1.5, 2, and 3 hours from town in all directions-
Mojave Desert, Antelope Valley, Southern Sierra, Owens Valley,
etc. Hard copy is available for sale in the Store. **- on the
web page are recommendations for places in their prime right now!
Current conditions in Yosemite, Bodie, Mammoth, etc. Check it
out! We also have Chamber brochures for most towns up Hwy 395,
maps, etc. and of course all sorts of info about Ridgecrest. Stop
in - it's all free!
A list of nearby Chambers of Commerce,Visitor Centers, Museums, etc.
A file of the wonderful papers that Sandy Rogers, our Curator of Archaeology, produces once in a while for our newsletter. All are pdf files.
Lectures are usually on 2nd Wednesday evenings- but not
all- note the dates below. Sandy Rogers is coordinating.
Doors open at 7 p.m., Lectures start promptly at 7:30 p.m. Seating
limited to 70.
continue in September. Stay tuned!
Chamber Concerts at the Museum
Concerts are held every so often on a Friday. The concert is sometimes repeated on the Saturday following. Admission $8.00,
$6.00 children under 12; - buy tickets early, limited seating (Only 60 tickets sold per performance)
and they usually sell out before the concert.
Doors open at 7 p.m., Concerts start promptly at 7:30 p.m.
Very TENTATIVE Schedule at this point- check back....
October 23 - 24, 2009 Sergio Ramirez and Cathy Douglas, American Art and Music
November 6 - 7. 2009 Dr. David Asbury, Guitar
January 29 - 30, 2010 High Desert Music Teachers Association "Classics Extraordinaire"
March 12, 2010, We Friends
April 9 - 10, 2010, Fiddlin' Pete Watercott
May 7, 2010, JazzTones
The Friday evening of the opening of each show is an "Artist's Reception" from 7:00 to 9 p.m. At 7:30 p.m. there is a presentation by the artist. The art pieces are for sale, prices are listed on a brochure and on the object's title tag. A portion of the sales benefits the museum.
Members Only Art Show - Artwork will be accepted on Wednesday July 15 from 3-5 p.m. and Thursday July 16 from 10am to 2 p.m. The artwork will be accepted on a "first-come, first-serve" basis; Only one item per artist may be displayed and must be for sale. Forty percent of the sale price will benefit the museum. There is a 10% discount on artwork purchased by museum members during the reception which will be Friday evening, July 17.Ê There is an entry fee of $10 for members who submit a request to display their art. Ê
May 16 - July 8, Monika Steiner, Abstract oils & bronze sculpture; www.monikasteiner.net
July 18 - Aug. 12, Museum Members, open to all members, mixed media
August 15 - October 7, Gail Martin, Color Infusion, Abstract Photography
October 10 - Nov. 11, Open Studio, open studios of local artists, mixed media
November 14 - January 13, Hamil Ma, watercolor & mixed media
360 degree PANORAMA (1.9 MB) of the current Art Show Download, and move it with your mouse! Some pictures can be instantly enlarged by clicking on them. Mark has also been making the art titles and price tags available at the click of a mouse. These are COOL! (big file- opens with QuickTime) See Hints for using Quicktime
PAST ART SHOWS Click here for
a file of movies of our shows from December 2002 onward!
Note: the shows from Dec. 2002 through 2007 have been removed from
the server but are available on a CD disk from Rosemary Lackaye at the
Museum, or from Carroll Evans.
Quicktime is
a free download. See Hints for viewing
panoramas if you're new to Quicktime.
Other Events which happen at the Museum which might interest you too...
HIGH TECH THINGS!
QuickTimeMovie
Player is needed - check your machine to see if you have a
current version - 7x for both Macs and PCs.
See Hints for viewing panoramas if you're
new to Quicktime and panoramas.
** Cool movie of our Saber Tooth Cat doing its thing, with
growl even! Download the kitty movie (it's
big-840K file)
***and thanks to Mark Pahuta, we have a 360 degree panorama
of the Sylvia Winslow Art Gallery Shows stitched together.
ART SHOW Current art show
panorama
Wickiup Project- Wickiup Project Movie
PAST ART SHOWS Click here for
a file of movies of our shows from December 2002 onward!
Check out a full panorama of the
Museum Exhibits in the North Gallery! (1.3MB file)
and a look around the Museum Store
Zoom in to check out the merchandise, then come buy it! (964K
file)
Many thanks to Mark Pahuta! His talents with both the camera and
the computer have made all these possible!
Our New Building Expansion Project
We're on our way gathering donations to greatly expand our
present building! The footprint will more than double the present
one, connected to the north with a new entrance in the center
of the new complex on the east side. Our exhibits in the North
Gallery will remain where they are now, but the new part will
have a much larger gallery/lecture/concert room, more exhibit
space, a bigger store, and all sorts of wonderful things! For
more information, contact Harris Brokke at matmus6@maturango.org.
To make a donation, click here for a form
to send in.
Permanent Exhibits in the Museum's North Gallery.
See full QuickTime panorama of the Exhibit room and Children's Corner, and you can move your cursor up and down to even see the birds!
Relics from various mines which have been
given to the Museum
The new "iron sheep" leaping over rocks
new iron "shaman" by the labyrinth
The bell from the Little Lake Hotel.
The white dome by the labyrinth is the Museum's observatory.
We occasionally have public "star parties."- at 8:30
p.m. If you'd like to
schedule a group to visit the telescope on a special occasion
contact us!
Cool photo from Don Witcher's little radio controlled plane
** The Labyrinth is "open" at any time -come
on over and stroll around
and around and around it! Try it under a full moon :-)
Now we have leaping sheep behind it. Come see!!
Mark Pahuta has made a panorama of
the Labyrinth! It's interactive, as are the rest - you can
move around within it. Hold your mouse pointer down at one edge
of the photo and watch it rotate! It's a large file, 514 K, but
have fun!
Gladys Merrick Xeriscape Demonstration Garden - Thanks to a grant from the Indian Wells Valley Water District for materials and lots of donated labor, we have installed a watering system which will meter each of the three "mounds" for water used, once the plants are established. We hope to show that desert plants don't need much water after they get going, but exotics do. Plants are arranged by where they are found in our deserts - the mound closest to the parking lot has plants normally found in the "Low Desert," i.e. Colorado Desert and Sonora Deserts of Southern CA, AZ, etc. They don't like freezing, but don't mind heat. Lots of cactus types. Plants in the next mound are from the "High Desert," both the Mojave and Great Basin Deserts. They don't mind freezing but don't like too much heat. Grasses, yuccas hardy perennials. The mound nearest the new office building is labeled "Exotics" - plants from drought areas on other continents. They are often planted as ornamentals here because they can stand heat and freezing. There is a list of the names of these plants available at the store counter. We have room for more plants - if your garden has some to spare which fit into these three categories, please mention this to the store attendant and the Garden committee will be contacted. Thanks! More to come - interpretive signs, etc.
Gladys Merrick loved desert plants and her yard was full of them. She always offered tours to anyone interested, but especially during our annual Wildflower Shows. We moved some of her plants to this garden as we set it up, and we honor her memory fondly. She gave so much of herself to the Museum - docent, wildflower illustrations, etc.
The photo at right is Mark Archer's art class "seat of knowledge," dedicated to Elva Younkin. Come sit on a corner of it and contemplate a while...
Be sure to go stand by the new "Sue Byrd water feature" near the Exotics mound, made by Danny Foster as a part of his Eagle Scout project. See who comes by to get a drink!
Shouldn't YOU be a member of our Museum? Then you get a reduced tour fee and you'd be able to join us on neat trips which are for Members only! Click here for Membership Application!
Petroglyph Tours! - Current rules and
regulations- Only United States citizens are allowed to go at
this time. All persons now must bring "proof of U.S. citizenship"
like a valid passport or birth certificate, etc. Reservations
must be made at least 10 days before the trip as paperwork gets
turned in to the Navy then. No last minute additions or substitutions
are allowed. The Museum recommends long pants and "sturdy"walking
shoes. Hiking poles with rubber tips (required) really help.
No large vehicles or campers allowed. ***Be sure if you drive
that you have your current driver's license, current registration
papers, and current insurance cards. They WILL be inspected at
the gate! No papers, no go.
Please read this trip info and download the application from here NO phone reservations! But we do need you to phone in, on the Friday before your trip, to make sure it's still a go - the Navy or weather can cancel the trip at any time!
Fall trips will be posted Aug. 20ish. We'll have trips Sept - Dec, 4 a month or so.
arrangements being made for fall trips. Ideas? - get um to Harris- matmus6@maturango.org
Travel with the Museum to exotic places! Trips led by Leo Girardot,
recently retired professor of history and psychology at Cerro
Coso Community College. Phone (760) 375-8737 and leave a message.
Leo is planning for a South Africa trip and an Oberammergau trip in 2010. Contact him.
Become a member of the Maturango Museum!
Membership in the Museum helps support our services
to the community and entitles you to special benefits including
free admission anytime, monthly newsletter with all our events
listed, members-only receptions and field trips, reduced fees
on regular field trips including to Little Petroglyph canyon,
and a 10% discount on purchases in the Museum Store. Come on in
and join, or click here for membership application!
Annual memberships are: Family: $50;
Individual: $40; Senior (55) family: $45; Senior (55) $35
Return to Index
Museum Information:
Museum Entrance Fee: The lobby with tourist information and
Museum Store is open to the public, free.
Exhibit room and art gallery: Free to members;
$5.00 for adult nonmembers;
$3.00 students, seniors, military; Children
under 6 free
Museum Hours: Daily 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (closed
major holidays).
Telephone: (760) 375-6900, Fax (760) 375-0479.
Address: 100 E. Las Flores Ave. (at China Lake Blvd., across from
Home Depot.) Ridgecrest, CA
93555.
Wheelchair accessible: We have two handicapped parking spaces,
one of which is van-accessible, and two ramps to our doors. The
building is on one level. Restrooms meet code. We do not have
a power-assisted door, but there are always people at the counter
who can open the door if needed.
E-Mail: Please note we now have seven e-mail accounts,
suffix numbers matter! In an effort to hide from "spam bots,"
this is a graphic and the handy "mail:to" hotlinks are
gone. Sorry... you'll have to type it in the old fashioned way...
Museum Holidays - the Museum will be closed the following 7 days each year: New Years Day,
President's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
Other than that, we are open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
You can only find our web page at www.maturango.org now, (no more
Ridgenet.net/~matmus.)
The Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert is a separate organization from the Maturango Museum. P.O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556-2001. They provide displays for the Museum and have their own speakers and field trip programs. Check out their Home Page! It contains the HSUMD Newsletters, news of the USO building project, field trips, etc.
Click here for an ever-expanding chronology of historical events in Kern, Inyo, and Mono Counties.
We have neighbors... A whole list of nearby Visitor Centers, Museums, Chambers of Commerce, etc.
Kern River Preserve in Weldon has lots of neat
activities all the time!
Incredible web site by Kernville's Alison Sheehey Beautiful
photos of local plants and animals, with data, etc.
Searles Valley, Trona, etc., has a very active Historical Society with three museums, and a world class Searles Lake Gem and Mineral Society. Check out their web pages!
Go to: The top of this page
Go to: Death Valley information page Pages of updated info about our neighboring valley!
Go to: Trips from Ridgecrest info page- Exploring the Upper Mojave Desert - Ideas for trips which take 1/2 to 3+ hours from Ridgecrest; how to make camping reservations; other current info.
Go to: Historical Society info page History of some local areas, and latest news from our Historical Society, newsletters, etc.
This page maintained by Janet Westbrook.
Send e-mail to Harris Brokke, CEO
at the Museum about museum matters and to
matmus4@maturango.org for petroglyph trips
and to Janet about how
to get to places, find us, etc.
Revised 6/21/09